Poured from a 1 pint 6 ounce bottle into a snifter. Pours bitch black thick syrup like nice head. Sticky lacing on the side of the glass. Impression from my first sip was that pine and chocolate never tasted so good together. I hate to say this is complex, but with 13 different malts and 13 hops many flavors are in there. Smells of fresh and dried, dark fruits. Prune, raisin with hershey syrup flavors overwhelm. Slight citrus to balance the more bitter notes. Malt, biscuit in the profile. All these flavors add up to be very well balanced which is a bit surprising. Mouthfeel very heavy. Alcohol is pretty upfront seems hard to hide the 13%. Nicely drinkable for being fresh.

Smell: Gentle, a warm boozyness, some raisin and plum, lots of dark malt, but still subtle...

Taste: NOT SUBTLE!!!! Wow! this is a smack in the mouth of dark dark malt, lots of the dark fruits suggested in the nose, rye malts, barley, thick, dark and sweet. There is some spice in here, and a warming sensation from the high ABV yet is still hidden. Very sneaky, I like it! Tons of bitterness and spice from the hops, very robust and leaves a nice bitterness on the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Slick, smooth and medium. Not a lot of bubbles, as you'd expect from high ABV dark like this, but thickin the mouth from all the proteins and phenols making yummy time on your tongue.

Drinkbility: Respect this beer. Take your time. This is a slow, warming beer. It's got a lot of character and demands that you get involved with it and think it through. Delicious, sneaky, smooth and rich as rich can be. Have fun... this is a damn fine beer.

Overall: Man oh man! I am glad I got two bombers of this. This will be something I'll revisit tonight for sure. Grab a third and fourth to age, this can only get better with age.

22oz. bottle served in a snifter. Poured a deep black with some reddish hints. Tan head that quickly dissipates. Big boozy, fruity aroma with some caramelized sugar. Full bodied and rich. Roasted malt and black patent flavors. Plenty of heat from the alcohol. Decent amount of hop bitterness that balances the malt a little. This smooths out as it warms up a bit. Long dry finish of roasted malt.

I would like to try this with about a year (or more) of cellar time on it. I've been pretty impressed with some of the previous versions of this beer, but they may be reaching the end of the line with how far they can take it without devolving into a big, boozy mess.

A appears black but my lamp bulb burnt out and I'm in a fairly dark room, the head however is a nice dark mocha color with about a thumbs worth of thickness that has decent retention but leaves no lace

S lots of dark fruit and sour apple with some raisin and very little booze

T very nice indeed, all I smell but with some molasses, coffee and chocolate to go along with it. I'm quite impressed by how well concealed the booze is, I can taste it but nowhere close to the 13%

M nice and thick but no knife and fork required, it has a little bite but stays smooth

D this beer is a dangerous beer with out doubt, a man could hurt himself if he did not now the alc%. I will be buying a few bottles of this for myself and wont be telling anyone I have them

so one has too ask if they are just going to bump it up a hop,malt and percent every year. I'm looking forwards too next years release because I want to see how they can make this one even bigger, should be fun. I'm thinking this would go well eggs first thing in the mourning before an important job interview or a family function

Creamy, roasty, toasty cocoa malt up front in the flavour, plum and grapes in the middle, treacle and creamy chocolate in the finish, some smooth roasted malt pops up in the aftertaste along with some lingering burnt and smoky notes, even some earthiness after a while.

Full-bodied but not thick or chewy, very smooth, velvety, rounded mouthfeel, a little bit sticky on the finish, yet then turns somewhat slick and oily, although the stickiness wins out in the end with a light coating on the palate.

Hell yeah, one of the most enjoyable, unique and highly drinkable Russian Imperial Stouts I've ever had, especially at 13%. No alcohol warmth or bite whatsoever (well, just a little bit of warmth, but it's camouflaged well), yet still incredibly smooth, in both mouthfeel and flavour, everything is rounded but full. 13 *is* lucky, especially for this RIS, and for the most part as covered in the rambling, nearly stream-of-conscious blurb on the side of the label (I swear they're trying to compete with Lagunitas). Kudos to He'Brew for their Bar Mitzvah offering, I'm definitely getting them pleated navy slacks for this one. Screw it, they deserve a Blackberry or an Xbox...

A: Pours a deep, dark, not-quite opaque brown with red highlights. The latte-colored head is fairly tall, extremely dense, and creamy. Retention is pretty solid, with some above average lacing along the glass.

S: Dark roasted malts, along with definite notes of semisweet chocolate and coffee. Some fruitiness is lying underneath all the malt - I'd say apple if I had to put my finger on it. Some notes of alcohol are also detectable, but for 13%, not as obviously as I was expecting.

T: Roasted, somewhat burnt malt flavors. A definite kick of alcohol makes itself known right out of the gates, with a rumlike nature. Dark fruit (fig/raisin) along with the same apple flavors are noticeable. I'm guessing they've added a fair portion of rye malt, as there's a robust spiciness to this beer. Also a strong flash of bitterness, with earthy flavor. Dark chocolate is prominent, and coffee, while less so, is also detectable.

M: Obviously a big, big beer here. Full-bodied, but not overwhelmingly so given the huge flavors and ABV. A dry, somewhat acidic finish. Quite a bit of heat from the alcohol, as expected.

D: A huge, very interesting beer from Shmaltz. I'm sipping this one very slowly, and I'm already feeling its weight. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely worth trying. For a $5 bomber, maybe one of the biggest beers for your buck out there.

Poured from a refrigerator temperature bottle into a chalice style glass. Allowed to warm before reviewing.

A - Pours a solid, opaque black with a one finger beige head that rather quickly dissipates into a ring of foam around the edge of the glass. Even held to a light bulb, there is essentially no light penetration.

S - Maybe I'm coming down with a cold, but I didn't find this to be a particularly aromatic brew. After dipping the tip of my nose in the beer several times, I come away with predominantly green apple with faint citrus-y hops and a small amount of alcohol.

T - Mostly mirrors, but amplifies, the smell. The first thing I think of is a sweeter (less sour) green apple. The sweetness of the apple is followed shortly by a fairly assertive hop bitterness. Roasty malt flavors are hard to find. I'm not able to locate much of the typical coffee/dark chocolate flavor one expects from a big stout.

M - Slightly lighter body than I was anticipating for such a big beer, which leaves the carbonation feeling a little 'fizzier' than I was expecting, for lack of a better term.

D - Alcohol is warming on the finish, but it is not at all boozy. Drinkability high for the style and ABV. I was a little worried about cracking this bottle 4 beers into the evening, but I was able to put down the bomber with relative ease.

Notes: Very strong offering. Not what I would call a typical imperial stout, but it was delicious and shockingly easy to drink at 13% ABV. It will be extremely interesting to see what this one is drinking like with some age on it. Perhaps some more of the traditional roasty malt characteristics will come to the forefront when the hops die down a bit.

Black coffee colored body with a fluffy pock marked head of sand colored foam that slowly melts leaving sliding blobs of lace behind on the glass. The smell of this brew is rich and complex, dark fruit and rum with caraway seed and coffee. The flavors are huge and rich with a charred bitterness struggling to get through. Chocolate, coffee, rum and dark fruity flavors that add a vinuous quality combine nicely but no one flavor dominates the others. Heavy duty, silky mouthfeel with nice medium carbonation that adds to the drinkability. This is a big masculine beer that stands up to just about any "hyped up" special brew for half the cash. L'Chaim!

Raisins, dates, dark chocolate, roasted malts in the nose. The alcohol has a big presence that's a little off-putting but is not out of control.

The taste is very rich and fruity. Along with the smell with bitter chocolate in the finish. The alcohol doesn't bother me as much in the taste. It just provides a nice amount of warmth. Very nice flavors. I wasn't expecting this amount of dark fruit flavors.

The mouthfeel is very full and rich, but not very thick. A decent amount of carbonation. I might like it thicker, but it's not a deal-breaker. Very long, sticky finish.

I initially wanted to take points off for drinkability, but as I'm getting towards the bottom of the bottle, I'm not finding that it will be hard to finish. Despite the ABV and sweetness, the flavors are just so enjoyable that I don't mind.

Overall, this beer is very nice. Shmalz's beers may be gimmicky, but I've never been disappointed by anything I've had from them. I imagine this would be a good one to age.

pours nearly black with some purplish tint around the edges. Little whiff of head disappears into a tiny ring of tight bubbles that cling in a sheet when swirled and fall back home. Not particularly leggy.

Licorice, brandied fruit, and burnt sugars in the nose. Alcohol is definitely there in a port-like way.

Rich, dark malt, molasses and herbal flavors up front. Raisin and prune, toffee and dark chocolate. Some mild coffee notes and burnt toast as the sweetness fades. A fairly substantial herbal hop bite and husky bitterness in the finish. Whiskey-like alcohol lingers on the breath.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin for a stout, but this isn't really about those big roasted flavors, despite the burnt toast. More of an old ale with bite. Carbonation is a bit tingly, rather than creamy.

A definite sipper and one that will probably mellow a bit with age. This would be great aged on some oak. You listening, Jeremy?

S- The aroma is dark bready malts and hints of caramel. Not a whole lot in terms of hops in the nose.

T- The taste like the aroma starts out with a good dose of malts. The hops are much more prevalent in the taste than in the aroma creating a nice bitterness in the finish. The 13% alcohol creates some heat in the finish as well.

M- The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation.

D- Overall, this is another solid beer from this brewery. Definitely worth a try.

22 oz bottle poured into a Boulevard Smokestack chalice. Mild mocha tan colored head rises about a half inch. As the head recedes thin stings of lace stick to the glass. Color is a thick black coffee brown. Good to look at.

The smell is very bold with dark coffee and some chocolate aromas. Taste is awesome. The label says it uses 13 different hops, but it's really the 14 different malts that stand out. Tons of layers. There's coffee, and chocolate, and rye, and oats, and toasted wheat bread, figs and raisins. It seems like it would be all over the place, but it is really controlled and balanced.

Mouthfeel as a thick creamy texture but finishes dry. The 13% ABV is hidden, but it is still a slow sipper from the complexity of the flavor. Really good stout and at $5 a bottle it's a great bargain.

Pours pitch brown with thin tan head. Smell: definite munich malts, spicy + sourish rye, yeasty, baker's chocolate, dark brown sugar. This is nice enough, but there's also a hop presence... a muddled overpowered-by-the-malt hop presence. Taste: hops are more powerful here... pretty serious bitterness, but not well defined... citrus peel, spicy, earthy, raw and leafy. Dark brown sugar, borderline burnt sugar, marble rye, chocolate syrup. Alcohol in the end of the sip. Dates in smell and taste (a little). Seems to me to be a strong brown ale, in line with most of their past Jewbelations. More of an amped brown malt profile than a stout malt profile. This is interesting and a beastly sipper at 13%... as with #12, the "pile as many ingredients as you can" approach results in a nice malt profile and a jumbled mess of hops. Still worth a try